Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2019 i The English Garden

Sussie Bell Sussie is a location photographer who specialises in interiors, crafts and gardens, and loves creating atmospheric shots with natural light. Her captivating images of foxgloves feature on page 107. Joe Wainwright Joe is an award-winning photographer based in north-east Wales and working throughout the UK. His photos of the Dorothy Clive Garden and Aberclwyd Manor both feature in this issue, on pages 20 and 36. Holly Farrell Holly trained at RHS Wisley and is the author of books including Growing Herbs, The Jam Maker’s Garden and RHS Plants from Pips. She visits plant-based skincare producer AS Apothecary on p131.…

Derbyshire Melbourne Hall Gardens, with its sweeps of lawn, avenues and unexpected vistas, is one of the best surviving early 18th-century English gardens in the manner of Le Notre. These enchanting and peaceful gardens are spread over 17 acres and feature an original wrought iron arbour by renowned ironsmith Robert Bakewell, a yew tunnel, 18th-century statuary and a variety of water features. The beautiful woodland and waterside planting includes meconopsis, candelabra primulas, various styrax and Cornus kousa, as well as colourful herbaceous borders. Melbourne Hall Gardens, Church Square, Melbourne, Derby, Derbyshire DE73 8EN. Opens for the NGS on 18 and 19 May, 1.30pm to 5.30pm. Home-made teas available. Adult £6; Children free.…

RHS Malvern Spring Festival 9-12 May, Worcestershire Be inspired by show gardens, plant exhibitors, cookery demos and ‘Green Living Spaces’ gardens. Admission £19-36 per day. Tel: 0844 8110050; rhsmalvern.co.uk Roots Gathering 17-19 May, Kent This family-focused micro festival at Hole Park is a mix of wood, fair and village fête, including talks, music and free camping. Weekend tickets £81.44; children free. Tel: 01580 241344; holepark.com Festival of Plants 18 May, Cambridgeshire Enjoy the wonder of spring at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden, with guided tours, a Q&A, talks, plant stalls and more. Adult £6, children free. Tel: 01223 336265; botanic.cam.ac.uk Hay Festival 2019 23 May-2 June, Powys This year’s festival will host more than 600 speakers over 11 days, including Monty Don, Derry Moore and Robert Macfarlane. Events ticketed individually.…

AQUILEGIA VULGARIS A granny’s bonnets seedling that has popped up, with pretty, pale-blue flowers. ROSA ‘SIR PAUL SMITH’ A climbing rose with highly fragrant double blooms, flowering early in May. WOOD SPURGE Euphorbia amygdaloides var. robbiae bears long-lasting, lime-green flowerheads from April into summer. GEUM ‘PRINSES JULIANA’ This perennial bears orange double flowers from May and in flushes during summer. IRIS ‘RAJAH’ Yellow flags and velvety dark burgundy falls with a golden trim on this tall bearded iris that flowers in May. SILENE LATIFOLIA Commonly known as white campion, this perennial wildflower produces pretty pale blooms from May.…

• Wisteria floribunda, W. sinensis and W. brachybotrys and their cultivars are those grown in our gardens. • Plant in full sun or a little shade in well drained but moist and fertile soil. • Although noted for their flowers, wisteria may also display furry, pendent seedpods. After leaf fall their bare form is bold and sculptural in winter. • Be sure to buy a wisteria propagated from cuttings or by grafting. Those grown from seed can take 20 years to flower. • Train your wisteria against a sunny wall, up a tree, over a pergola or even as a standard using an ‘umbrella’ shaped support. • Prune twice a year: in July or August reduce the long whippy shoots of the current year’s growth to five or six leaves…

• Deadhead completely brown evergreen fronds and remove all dead deciduous fronds. • Give ferns a dose of fertiliser such as tomato feed when the new fronds arrive in spring, and one other feed during summer. • The soil in the fernery is ordinary clay garden soil mixed with garden compost and topped with a small amount of orchid bark. • We water the fernery once a day in summer and once a week in winter. Avoid splashing water on the fronds as this results in brown burnt patches. • We monitor temperature sensors remotely in the fernery. We can adjust temperatures by opening or closing top windows, which draws cool air through the door from outside and expels warm air through the roof. • We don’t protect the crowns…

MORE NEW FACES Designers Colm Joseph and Duncan Cargill are creating their first Chelsea exhibit in the Great Pavilion, where The Perennial Lifeline Garden will celebrate the 180-year anniversary of Perennial – a charity that helps horticulturists in times of need. It’s a contemporary interpretation of Sir Roy Strong’s classical garden, The Laskett. “We want to capture the spirit of The Laskett by taking an idea Sir Roy Strong is committed to, that gardens shouldn’t be museums and things can be changed, while putting a modern spin on the garden,” Colm says. The Laskett’s classic rose garden is re-interpreted as a contemporary rose meadow, with an innovative maintenance regime. “We’re using species such as Rosa glauca, some modern shrubs and patio climbers that can be cut back hard every year,…

When it comes to providing a bright and relaxing place in which to spend time, nothing compares to a conservatory or garden room. Most gardeners will wish to use these spaces for their intended function as traditional plant houses, but a well-planned and executed glazed extension is an excellent way to extend a home. Contemporary structures are therefore required to fulfil many functions, and while traditional conservatories are separated from the house by a door, current thinking favours a more integrated approach, culminating in flexible, open-plan spaces, ideal for creating multipurpose rooms that lead onto a terrace or directly into the garden. However, ensuring a comfortable and viable environment within any glazed structure will require careful consideration of the impact of increased exposure to the elements. PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS Base your…

Rare Helleborus x hybridus ‘Golden Lotus’ This colour-changing variety produces huge double blooms above glossy foliage in the depths of winter. Each flower is unique: some are pure yellow, others have a red edge or speckled markings. One 9cm pot PT321A18 £15 Three 9cm pots PT321B18 £24 SAVE UP TO £4.80 Unusual Aquilegia buergeriana ‘Calimero’ These pretty flowers have sumptuous wine-coloured petals and a yellow corolla, nodding above lacy grey-green foliage in spring and summer. They are tough, easy to grow and attract bees and butterflies. 5 young plants YP138B19 £20 10 young plants YP138C19 £28 SAVE UP TO £5.60 Exciting Geranium phaeum Plantswoman Margery Fish maintained “when in doubt, plant a geranium” – and we agree! Hardy geraniums give so much…

Gales howl along the north-facing slope at Slack Top, a hamlet two miles from Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire. The area can receive an annual rainfall in excess of 1,200mm, and its elevation, 900ft above sea level, means winter temperatures can drop as low as -16°C. These are terrible conditions for a nursery – except, of course, if you’re growing alpines. “Customers say that if they see it growing here, it will grow anywhere,” says Michael Mitchell, owner of Slack Top Nurseries, the business he started from his parents’ garden, 34 years ago. “After a few years, I bought some land adjoining my parents’ house, but I didn’t really have much of a plan and I had no money at all. Everything was done on the cheap but eventually it…

‘Duncan’ An F1 variety that holds an Award of Garden Merit from the RHS. Harvest in spring for early greens, or let it form a heart for June picking. ‘Ruby Ball’ Develops a classic red ball of leaves that matures from July. It holds an RHS Award of Garden Merit and is a good variety for pickling. ‘Hispi’ Develops so quickly that it can be planted in May for a late-summer crop. Close, successional planting will ensure greens until winter. ‘Kalibos’ A red pointed cabbage from Eastern Europe that makes a pretty salad with its ruby leaves. Sow it outdoors now for an autumn harvest.…

Vickery’s Folk Flora by Roy Vickery Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £30 In our modern age it is tempting to presume that folklore bears no relevance to daily life, yet Roy Vickery has found it thriving in botanical and gardening communities around the country. The former botanist at the Natural History Museum and current president of the South London Botanical Institute has been gathering folklore since the 1970s. The findings of his life’s work, which are presented here, encompass lore dating from before the 18th century and up to the present day. It is certainly comprehensive: Vickery claims over 2,000 sources and, because of this, entries are restricted to vascular plants. That is no hardship, however, for what is presented in one book is a priceless encyclopaedia of the kind of information…

LANGTHORNS PLANTERY Langthorns Plantery is a second-generation family business specialising in top quality ornamental plants, shrubs and trees, including many uncommon and heritage species that are more difficult to obtain. Our carefully chosen collection of more than 5,000 varieties can be viewed online and include ornamental and fruit trees, herbaceous perennials, shrubs, grasses, alpines, bamboos, herbs, roses, climbers, annuals and individually designed hanging baskets. Open 7 days a week. Tel: 01371 872611 info@langthorns.com | www.langthorns.com Langthorns Plantery Ltd, High Cross Lane West, Dunmow, Essex CM6 1TD WYKEHAM MATURE PLANTS Specialist grower of large trees, specimen shrubs and instant hedging for immediate impact. Specialists in screening for privacy and security. Supplying trade and public for over 40 years from our 150-acre nursery. Yorkshire grown – hardiness guaranteed! Advisory services and nationwide…

May means one thing in The English Garden’s office, and that’s the Chelsea Flower Show. All spring we look forward to seeing the show gardens we’ve been reading about come to fruition, following months of planning and weeks of hard work building them on the showground. Some may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you’re a keen gardener you have to experience Chelsea at least once. That’s why I’m especially happy to tell you about our competition to win a pair of tickets to this year’s show, including an overnight stay and VIP breakfast – turn to page 85 to find out how to enter and what you can expect to see at Chelsea 2019. The rest of this issue is just like May: bursting with fresh new growth…

Known also as woodland strawberry, because it’s commonly found on the edge of woods or in thickets, the wild strawberry’s delicate white flower blooms in late spring and its small red fruits follow. In folk medicine, the fruit has been used to cure a sore throat, and a tea made from its leaves was used to stimulate the appetite. In the 17th century, Dr William Butler wrote of the wild strawberry, which is more flavoursome than its commercial counterpart: “Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did.”…

• Garden plants are growing rapidly now. Stay on top of tasks such as mowing and edging lawns and stake herbaceous perennials to keep the garden looking sharp. • As the temperatures warm up, keep an eye on any pest problems and deal with them without delay. We use biological controls in our greenhouse to keep pests at bay. • Keep on tying in new clematis shoots to their supports; they grow very fast at this time of year and can run away in the blink of an eye. • We ‘Chelsea chop’ (reduce by a half) suitable herbaceous perennials such as sedums and monardas early in the month to keep them compact. This delays flowering and reduces the need for staking. • Sow biennials such as foxgloves later on…

KNOWING WHEN TO LEAVE WELL ALONE is part of the skill of garden design – clever editing can be just as effective as ripping everything out and starting again. And a skilful edit is just what designer James Scott, of The Garden Company, has applied here at Dacorum House, after its owner, Fiona MacLean, called him in to help her make sense of this well-established space. Fiona, her husband and their two, now grown-up children had lived in the house for 13 years before she decided to improve the garden – the trigger for action was an inherited swimming pool that the family no longer used. “We decided we didn’t want the swimming pool, we wanted a wildlife pond,” says Fiona. James was called in, the pool’s transformation was a…

Glazed structures provide a unique link to the garden and, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, can add at least five per cent to the value of a home. It therefore pays to employ a highly regarded firm to ensure a good return on investment. The reputable companies listed here offer advice and guidance and full management of all aspects of the design and build. Some may also help secure planning permission. However, it is recommended that any prospective company is always researched thoroughly prior to commission. APROPOS Specialises in the design and creation of traditional and contemporary-style bespoke glass and aluminium structures. Prices from £15,000. Tel: 0161 3428206; aproposconservatories.co.uk ARBORETA Timber-framed garden rooms and orangeries, which are constructed from durable, eco-friendly, green oak. A vaulted garden room…

When they have their moment, there is nothing quite like a tree peony, according to Dave Root, director at peony nursery Kelways in Somerset. See one in full bloom, and it’s hard to disagree: these shrubs (not trees, despite the name) deserve the epithet ‘show-stopping’ like no other, producing huge, multi-layered flowers, sometimes the size of a dinner plate, in late spring. Afterwards they recede, spending the rest of the year as a leafy component of a mixed border, before losing their leaves in winter. “You need patience,” says Dave. “These days most garden centres are full of instant-reward plants that do their thing from the day you buy them, but a tree peony is something you plant for what it will be like in two or three years’ time.…

A glade of common foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea) is a sight to behold. With their spires of trumpet-like flowers, these native woodland blooms are well-loved for their dramatic arrival from the end of May into early summer. They are steeped in folklore, much of which relates to the fairies that supposedly hide within them, giving rise to common names such as fairy cap, fairies’ glove and fairy thimble. Weave them into a border with daisies and voluptuous peonies, or grow them against garden walls and out-buildings, where they will introduce a romantic country mood to the garden. Romantic PICNIC While fairies are not guaranteed, whimsical foxgloves may well inspire a picnic, perhaps in a hidden spot under a tree where you can style a setting for a small crowd in the…

LEWISIA REDIVIVA ‘ALBA’ Can dry out completely in summer and revive in autumn rain. Has large white flowers. LINARIA ALPINA This fine, grey-leaved alpine will produce its purple flowers all summer given full sun and good drainage. ARMERIA MARITIMA ‘IN THE RED’ Previously called ‘Rubrifolia’, pretty pink globes are held aloft on slender stems. DELOSPERMA ASHTONII Fleshy, slightly hairy leaves and a fulsome, tumbling habit – ideal for retaining walls. OXALIS ‘SLACK’S PEACOCK’ Tuft-forming, with near stemless flowers in attractive purple tones. Ideal for pots. SISYRINCHIUM ‘E.K. BALLS’ A clump-forming plant that flowers all summer and likes sharply drained soil.…

With the frosts hopefully behind us, this is a good time to sow a few herbs. I broadcast sow shiso, aka perilla, in a fairly quick and unconsidered way under trees, around bushes and over any bare soil I’d like to liven up with its beautiful leaves. It comes in lime-green and deep-purple varieties, and quickly springs from nicely prepared soil. With an occasional watering it will germinate fairly quickly and reach perhaps three feet in height over summer. The flavour of the leaves sits right between the freshness of mint and the warmth of cumin; the sunnier it is, the mintier they seem in scent and flavour. I pick stems in armfuls to stand in vases in the house, plucking leaves as I need them. Any that are left…

• Cabbage is best sown in a nursery bed or modular cell trays, and the resulting young plants transplanted into the vegetable garden after about five weeks. • Cabbage fly larvae will attack cabbage roots, so protect seedlings with cabbage collars. • Use fine mesh to net beds and keep at bay pigeons, and both cabbage white butterflies and cabbage moths, the larvae of which bore into cabbage heads. • Rotate your cabbage plantings each year to help prevent club root, a fungal infection that causes roots to swell and distort.…

In so many depictions of cultivation and harvest, be it photograph, etching or painting, a sturdy fork is usually to be seen somewhere in view: a fork as a resting post, a fork tossing hay high into the air, another slicing through deep soil as if it were moist cake. So integral are forks to gardening that there is a type to suit almost every purpose. But the decision to invest in such specialised tools depends on demand and how much they will be used – or perhaps, depending on your priorities, how beautiful they are. Traditional pitchforks have just two tines so as to lift light materials easily, and tool manufacturer Faithfull continues to offer a similarly shaped hayfork. By contrast, Bulldog’s potato fork, with special rounded ends has…

What do you feel has been the RHS’s biggest contribution to gardening over the decades? Bringing together people with a common interest and sharing their knowledge of gardening. This has let thousands of gardeners develop their skills, increasing their enjoyment and their levels of success. This dispersal of knowledge is particularly important for new gardeners and has enabled people of all backgrounds and cultures to succeed. And the advice on the RHS website is increasingly influential. Which aspect of the RHS’s work appeals most? They are involved in so many areas that it’s difficult to choose just one aspect. But their work with schools is very important: they are educating the next generation while creating an environmental awareness that reaches into the wider world. In doing so, they are educating…

WATERPERRY GARDENS Waterperry, Near Wheatley, Oxfordshire OX33 1LA Tel: 01844 339226 | office@waterperrygardens.co.uk | www.waterperrygardens.co.uk Waterperry Gardens – eight acres of spectacular ornamental gardens with a fascinating history and one of the country’s finest herbaceous borders - blooming with lupins and alliums at this time of year. There is a Plant Centre, Garden Shop, Gift Barn, Gallery, Rural Life Museum and Teashop on-site and events and gardening courses run throughout the year. OPEN: 10am to 5.30pm. Party bookings welcome by arrangement. BLUEBELL ARBORETUM AND NURSERY Annwell Lane, Smisby, Ashby de la Zouch, Derbyshire LE65 2TA Tel: 01530 413700 | www.bluebellnursery.com An enchanting, nine-acre woodland garden with many rare and unusual trees and shrubs on display! Many of the trees and shrubs have been selected for their beautiful spring flowers and…

• Remove insulating materials from around plants and pots after the worst of the cold weather has passed. • Clear spring-flowering bedding plants and prepare soil for summer by lightly forking over it, removing weeds and adding fertiliser. • Plant up containers with summer bedding plants using good-quality compost. Harden them off with a coldframe before placing outside once there’s no risk of frost. • Plant out hardy vegetables sown earlier, such as leeks and brassicas. Harden off tender vegetables ready to plant outside at the end of May. • Tie the shoots of climbers such as clematis, roses and vines into their supports using string or soft ties.…

• Carry on feeding birds even if you can feel that outdoor conditions are improving and temperatures rising. Winter may be over, but nesting season will still be a real time of need for them, and they will benefit from the provision of high-protein foods, such as seeds, dried fruit, mealworms, waxworms and mild grated cheese. • If you have large clumps of summer-flowering, wildlife-friendly perennials in your garden, such as bergenia, salvia and verbena, this is the perfect time to lift, divide and replant them separately to boost their numbers. • Sow annual flowers that will attract pollinators in trays or pots now. Try cosmos, California poppy, poached egg plant or honeywort. • Leave out plates of cat biscuits or specialist hog food for hungry hedgehogs who are building…

WALK DOWN THE STEPS INTO Ascog Hall’s fernery and you are immediately projected back to the Victorian era. Here, in a sunken garden intricately lined with local sandstone and artificial rock and spectacularly roofed in glass, is a remarkable collection of temperate ferns from around the world, looking exactly as it would have done in the 1870s when the fernery was created. Plumed and ribbon-like, curled and feathery, diminutive or with trunks several feet round, the ferns are the stars. But the building itself – part grotto, part glasshouse – is a Victorian work of art. Water trickles in through three small cascades, fed by a natural spring, a statue of Hebe holds out her cup, and the path sparkles with white quartz pebbles gathered from the beach. That the…

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is a barometer for gardening’s zeitgeist, the trends revealed in each year’s show gardens reflecting the mood of gardening on a wider scale. This year, designers with their fingers on the pulse are creating woodland gardens celebrating the beauty of trees and forests, while others – including Catherine, The Duchess of Cambridge – are designing gardens with children in mind. Water in all its forms is a key source of inspiration too. So here are the gardens and trends you should look out for at this year’s show.…

• Grow tree peonies in dappled or full shade, but make sure they are in an open position where air can flow freely around them. Avoid windy sites, which could make flower petals blow off. Soil should be fertile and well-drained and not waterlogged in winter. • Autumn is the best time to plant peonies bought in containers, or winter for bare-root or root-balled plants. Make sure the graft union is at least 8cm below soil level. • Prune out any dieback or dead stems in spring, and vigorous new shoots should emerge from ground level. Cut off any suckers that appear from the rootstock (the foliage will look different). • Work a little bone meal or rose fertiliser into the soil in autumn, then use a general fertiliser in…

Type of plant There are many species of digitalis and life cycles vary. Digitalis purpurea is a hardy biennial, growing foliage in the first year then flowering, setting seed and dying in the second year. When to sow A single plant produces thousands of seeds best sown in late summer. Scatter the tiny seeds in a tray where they will germinate in ten days. After three weeks they will be a size suitable for pricking out. Transfer to single pots until planting. They will flower one year from being sown. Flowering time May to July. Conditions Part shade and will tolerate full sun. Grow in moist, well-drained soil. Height Will reach between 90cm and 120cm. Spacing Plant 30cm apart.…

• “There’s no mystery to growing alpines: they just need good drainage and good light,” says Michael. Many are also suitable for partial shade. • Buy plants from a reputable source. Some alpines are planted in peat compost and it can be difficult to grow them on from that. Use a soil-based medium mixed with grit or sharp sand. John Innes No 1 or No 2 is ideal. Apply a layer of grit to the surface. • Alpines are easily propagated from seed, cuttings or division, depending on type. Lewisia ‘Little Tutti Frutti’ is an ideal starting point, since it flowers for a long time and grows well from seed. Collect seed in summer and sow it in autumn. It will come up in spring and make a flowering plant…

YACON A South American tuber that tastes of pear with a hint of celery. Delicious, refreshing, and easy. Plant tubers now for harvesting in October. SOCIETY GARLIC One of the best edible flowers, full of sweet garlic intensity and delicious strewn through leafy salads. Start from plants in May. CHINESE BROCCOLI Sow kai lan in modules and plant out when the roots first appear at the module’s base. Cut and come again regularly to prevent woodiness. ANISE HYSSOP With insect-attracting, purple bottlebrush flowers, the sweet leaves of this herb have a gentle aniseed flavour. Sow direct now. PERPETUAL SPINACH Expect a long season of tender leaves from New Zealand spinach. Sow now, soaking the seed overnight first to speed germination. JAPANESE QUINCE Chaenomeles produce oval fruit that share many of…

Most people when they see a field of lavender, spikes of indigo flowers nodding in hazy sunshine as far as the eye can see, would breathe deeply of the scented air and think how beautiful and romantic it all is. Not Amanda Saurin, whose heart sinks: “First, where’s the biodiversity? And second, what a horrible lavender!” She much prefers to grow the less camphoric English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia ‘Maillette’), not commercially-used Lavandula x intermedia. As the founder of AS Apothecary, makers of natural skincare products, she freely admits to being obsessive and picky about the plants that she uses, but years of experience have given her a deep understanding of plants and their therapeutic qualities. “People often think a plant is just a plant, but that’s all wrong. A rose…

Watering, tending, feeding, nurturing, caring for: these are all metaphors equally applicable both to gardening and to loving human relationships. I have just been reading Allan Jenkins’ searing memoir, Plot 29 (Fourth Estate, 2017). Its cover shows two small boys in new, too-large clothes, smiling uncertainly for the camera: Allan, aged five, and his brother Christopher. It is the first day in their new foster home. We learn later that there have been other foster homes, and that the boys have previously been separated; that they have been in and out of care the whole of their short lives. Then you open the book. The endpapers are a riot of different shades of green: the eponymous Plot 29, photographed by Jenkins’ friend Howard Sooley. Rows and rows of seedlings in…